As technology continues to change the way society communicates, teachers need to prepare their students for digital literacy and competencies in their adulthood. Specific training is necessary for educators in the appropriate and effective methods for incorporating technologies such as smart phones and hand-held devices. Teachers, who work in international boarding schools, are more effective in their use of technology when they understand the classroom cultural differences and are able to clarify any misconceptions. To determine what experienced teachers find missing in their instruction and what should be included in a teachers' instructional guide, a guide was developed based upon the existing literature; the guide was tested and revised under three conditions.

In the first phase, a panel of subject-matter experts reviewed the guide draft to identify the instructional goals and validate the survey instrument. In the second phase, a teacher's workshop was conducted and provided in-depth discussions on how they use technology in the classroom. Teachers shared examples of how culture affected students' use and misuse of technology. In the final phase, observations were conducted as teachers used the lessons and resources in their instruction. The final revision, presented in this document, includes closing comments made by participating teachers.

The goal was to develop a digital citizenship guide for teachers in international boarding schools that reflected best practices from the literature and the input from experts and teachers. The results identified the specific skills and competencies that are required to teach students how to communicate in the digital world and become good digital citizens.

The culturally diverse student population at the investigation site made it possible to generalize instructional sets that will be of value to teachers everywhere. The guide, developed through the dissertation initiative, provides educators with the knowledge, tools, and examples necessary to teach students how these technologies can be used in a multicultural learning environment. It can be used to address the fundamentals of digital citizenship and provide insight into the role culture plays in the use of technology in education.